The Storm Copper Project is located on Somerset Island, Nunavut, Canada, and spans over 2,200 square kilometres in the well-established Polaris mineral district. The project is located on reliable shipping routes and is equipped with key infrastructure, including an airstrip and 50-person camp, ensuring readiness for continued operations.
Ownership and Strategic Partnership
American West Metals owns 80% of the Storm Copper Project as part of a Joint Venture with Aston Bay Holdings (TSX: BAY), which holds the remaining 20%.
American West Metals has also entered into a strategic partnership with Ocean Partners, a global metal trading, technical advisory, and financing company. The agreement includes equity in AW1, project financing for development, and offtake on copper and silver production.
The American West/Ocean Partners strategic partnership represents a significant step in securing the future of Storm and highlights the Projects position as an emerging producer of high-quality copper and silver raw materials.
Positive Economics and Development Potential
The Storm Copper Project Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) has outlined a technically robust project and demonstrated that Storm has the potential to become a profitable, long-life mine with strong economic returns for the Company.
The PEA estimates that an open pit mining and mineral processing facility at Storm can be developed with a low initial capital cost of US$47.4m to deliver a project NPV of approximately US$149m and a post-tax IRR of approximately 46%. Shareholder returns can be substantially enhanced by use of 100% debt to fund development, which boosts the approximate pre-tax IRR to an impressive 135%. The below key economic metrics of the PEA highlight the competitive cost profile and investment returns (all financial metrics are approximations estimated on the basis of assumptions in the PEA).
Resource Quality and Expansion Potential
The PEA is based on the current Storm MRE of 20.6Mt @ 1.1% Cu and 3.8g/t Ag, which contains 229Kt of copper and 2.2Moz of silver (using a 0.35% Cu cut-off). 61% of the contained metal within the MRE is classified in the Indicated Resource category, highlighting the quality and continuity of the resource.
The shallow copper mineralisation within the Storm Deposits is open in all directions. The host stratigraphy and structures have been shown to be laterally and vertical extensive and therefore rank as high priority areas for further resource growth.
Recent discoveries, such as high-grade copper mineralisation at The Gap, Squall, and Cyclone Deeps, continue to demonstrate the substantial upside potential for Storm. These discoveries, along with numerous untested geochemical and geophysical anomalies, are compelling targets for ongoing resource expansion.
Exploration and Growth Strategy
With less than 5% of the 110km prospective copper horizon at Storm systematically explored with drilling and numerous exploration targets already identified along the copper belt, there is strong potential to add significant copper resources to the Storm MRE and to make new discoveries.
Copper and zinc have been found at multiple locations along the entire strike of the prospective stratigraphic horizon, with more to be found. The Company is planning a major exploration program for 2025 to test a pipeline of high-quality copper targets.
American West: 2024 Project Milestone
Recent Highlights and Future Outlook
The 2024 season at Storm delivered over 23,000m of drilling and new discoveries, including high-grade copper mineralisation at Cyclone Deeps, Squall, and The Gap, resulting in a significant increase in the JORC Mineral Resource Estimate to 20.6Mt @ 1.1% Cu and 3.3g/t Ag. A successful sealift operation has also set the stage for the 2025 exploration season, significantly reducing logistics costs.
Looking ahead, 2025 will be a key year for Storm, with a major drill program planned to accelerate the expansion of resource base and to make new discoveries. The focus will be on testing new regional exploration targets along the 110km copper belt and further advancing the project toward production with a clear pathway to mine development.
American West’s ongoing commitment to exploration and development ensures that Storm is positioned to become a major contributor to global copper supply. With continued resource growth and a robust pathway to production, the Storm Copper Project is well-placed for long-term success.
